What are the most important qualities an effective leader should have?

The class will be placed by the instructor into groups. Each team member will personally interview one leader of his/her choice. Examples of leaders can include, but are not limited to, former or current managers or supervisors, educational leaders, civic/business leaders, and religious leaders. This interview can take place via phone, via e-mail, or in person.

To ensure that the interviews yield comparable results, the team must prepare a list of questions to ask the chosen leaders (interviewees). As a team, choose four questions from the list below:

1. What are the most important qualities an effective leader should have?
2. What is the importance of trust in leadership?
3. What are the qualities you want most in an employee? Why?
4. Who has had the most influence on how you lead? Why?
5. In what areas would you like to improve your leadership?
6. How do your employees react to your leadership?
7. Have you engaged in 360-degree feedback? If so, what has been the result?
8. What is the role of effective communication in leadership?
9. How would you rate yourself at being able to communicate with all your important stakeholders?

In addition to the four interview questions your team will use from the above list, as a group, generate two more questions, for a total of six interview questions. Please note: Each team member is required to ask his/her chosen leaders the same interview questions so you must decide as a team which questions you will ask.

After conducting the interview, each team member will individually create a leadership profile of his/her chosen leader within a PowerPoint presentation (5-6 slides). Be sure to include the following in your individual leadership profile:

1. A slide that introduces your chosen leader
2. A summary of the answers to the interview questions
3. A description of the leadership model with which the leader seems most closely aligned